Admiral's House, Hampstead

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Admiral's House
Sir George Gilbert Scott - Admiral's House Admiral's Walk Hampstead London NW3 6RS (1).jpg
Admiral's House in 2016
Admiral's House, Hampstead
Former names
  • Golden Spikes
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeHouse
ClassificationGrade II
Location Hampstead, London Borough of Camden
Town or cityLondon
CountryUnited Kingdom
Coordinates 51°33′35″N0°10′48″W / 51.5597°N 0.1801°W / 51.5597; -0.1801
Construction started1700
Technical details
MaterialStone brick

Admiral's House (originally known as Golden Spikes and later as The Grove) [1] is a Grade II listed house in Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. The house's name is a misnomer, as no admirals have ever lived there. [2] The house is featured in multiple paintings by John Constable. [3]

Contents

History

John Constable's 19th-century painting of Admiral's House John Constable The Admiral's House.jpg
John Constable's 19th-century painting of Admiral's House
Blue plaque commemorating George Gilbert Scott who lived at Admiral's House GOC Hampstead 032- Sir George Gilbert Scott plaque.jpg
Blue plaque commemorating George Gilbert Scott who lived at Admiral's House

The house was built in 1700 by Charles Keys. [1] The house was used as a masonic lodge between 1730 and 1745, which may have been why Keys named it Golden Spikes. [1] It appeared on John Rocque's Map of London, 1746. [4] Naval captain Fountain North owned the house between c. 1775 to 1811. [1] He renamed it The Grove [1] and added a quarterdeck to the roof of the house. [1] [5] [6] He also added bulwarks and portholes to the property, and in 1805, bought the nearby grove and demolished it to extend the house's garden. [1] In the late 18th century, the house was mistaken as belonging to Admiral Barton. [1] [7] : 8  The problem arose because a print of The Grove was incorrectly entitled Admiral Barton’s Hampstead. [4] A possible explanation for the confusion was that Barton, who lived in Hampstead, fired cannon from his roof, and so it was assumed they were from the quarterdeck of The Grove. [1] [7] : 8  As a result, the house became known as Admiral's House, [1] [6] though no admiral has ever lived in the house. [7] : 8  [8] Admiral’s Walk, the road on which the house is situated, is similarly misnamed. [7] : 8  [6]

In the 19th century, John Constable painted Admiral's House a number of times. [1] [5] One painting, The Grove, or Admiral's House, Hampstead, was bought by Hugo von Tschudi for the Berlin Alte Nationalgalerie, [9] was later on display at the Tate Britain, [10] and is now in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. [6] [11] The painting is believed to be the view of Admiral's House from Constable's nearby house. [11] Another painting, The Romantic House at Hampstead has been in the collections of the National Gallery. [12] George Gilbert Scott lived in the house between 1856 and 1865, [7] : 375  although he decided that Hampstead was too cold for him. [5] In 1910, London County Council commissioned a blue plaque for Scott on Admiral's House. [6] [13]

From 1917 to 1926, [4] John and Winifred Fortescue lived at Admiral's House. [6] During his time in the house, John Fortescue wrote his multi-volume book Fortescue's History of the British Army. [12] The couple moved from Admiral's House to Windsor Castle. [12] In 1941, Norman Thomas Janes produced a watercolour painting of Admiral's House that is located in the V&A Museum collections. [14] Admiral's House is believed to have been an inspiration for P. L. Travers' Mary Poppins books. [15] Travers' character Admiral Boom likes to fire cannons, as did Admiral Barton, who at the time was believed to have lived at the house. [5] [6] Scenes from the 1964 Mary Poppins film adaptation were filmed at Admiral's House. [16] which was used as Admiral Boom's house in the film. [17]

In 1950, the house was listed as a Grade II listed building. [4] In the 1960s and 1970s, the gardens of Admiral's House and the next door Grove Lodge were opened to the public on selected dates as part of the National Gardens Scheme. [18] [19] In 1976, the brick and Portland stone boundary wall to the house was Grade II listed, in a separate listing from the main house, and including neighbouring properties. [20] In the late 20th century, windows were added to the roof, and the kitchen was extended. These changes were not included in the Grade II listing of the house. [4] Since the 1980s, Admiral's House has been owned by John Gardiner KC. [16]

Other buildings

In the 20th century, a wing of Admiral's House was converted into a separate house, named Grove House. [21] John Galsworthy lived at Grove House from 1918 to 1933. [16] In 2015, the owners of Grove House wanted to knock down part of the house to build an extension and 13 room basement. [16] In the 1920s, parts of the gardens of Admiral House's were sold as land for two additional houses. [4] Between 1931 and 1932, Edward Maufe built a studio next to the house. [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Baker, T. F. T.; Bolton, Diane K.; Croot, Patricia E. C. (1989). Hampstead: Hampstead Town, in A History of the County of Middlesex. Vol. 9. Victoria County History. Archived from the original on 10 April 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020– via British History Online.
  2. ↑ "Admiral's House, Hampstead - Admiral Booms House In Mary Poppins". www.london-walking-tours.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  3. ↑ "The Grove, or Admiral's House, Hampstead | John Constable | V&A Search the Collections". V and A Collections. 17 May 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Admiral's House". Historic England. Archived from the original on 1 June 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Davies, Andrew (12 September 1995). "Site unseen / Admiral's House, Hampstead". The Independent . Archived from the original on 10 April 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "The North London House That's Partly Shaped Like A Ship". Londonist . 12 June 2017. Archived from the original on 31 May 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Hibbert, Christopher; Weinreb, Ben; Keay, Julia; Keay, John (2008). The London Encyclopaedia. Macmillan Publishers. ISBN   9781405049245. Archived from the original on 1 June 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  8. ↑ DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: London. DK. 2012. p. 230. ISBN   9781405393140. Archived from the original on 31 May 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  9. ↑ Keisch, Claude (2005). The Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin. C.H. Beck. p. 73. ISBN   9783406526756. Archived from the original on 2 June 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  10. ↑ Bermingham, Ann (1989). Landscape and Ideology: The English Rustic Tradition, 1740-1860. University of California Press. pp. 155, 198, 232–33. ISBN   9780520066236. Archived from the original on 31 May 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  11. 1 2 "The Grove, or Admiral's House, Hampstead". Victoria and Albert Museum. Archived from the original on 2 June 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  12. 1 2 3 "The Romantic House at Hampstead" . The Guardian . 8 September 1925. p. 8. Archived from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Scott, Sir George Gilbert". English Heritage. Archived from the original on 2 June 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  14. ↑ "Admiral's House, Hampstead". Victoria and Albert Museum. Archived from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  15. ↑ "The Ship-Shaped House That Inspired Mary Poppins". Atlas Obscura. Archived from the original on 2 November 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  16. 1 2 3 4 Banks, Emily (31 March 2015). "Protest over 'Mary Poppins' basement scheme at Hampstead farmhouse immortalised by Constable". Hampstead and Highgate Express . Archived from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  17. ↑ "London: Explore neighborhoods made famous by writers" . The Journal News . 25 June 1995. p. 67. Retrieved 15 April 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ "In and Around London Today" . The Observer . 14 July 1963. p. 36. Retrieved 15 April 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ "Where to go this Sunday" . The Observer . 5 July 1970. Retrieved 15 April 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ "Boundary Wall to Admiral's House, 25 Hampstead Grove and Grove End, Admiral's Walk, Hampstead Grove and Upper Terrace". Historic England. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  21. ↑ "The Grove or Admiral's House, Hampstead, c.1821-22 by John Constable | Oil Painting | john-constable.org". www.john-constable.org. Archived from the original on 1 June 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
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